Far From Daylight
by Haxan
Summary: It wasn't easy being a vampire in Sunnydale, but Willow Rosenberg always loved a challenge. ON HIATUS...dagnabbit...
1. Prologue

Disclaimer- Buffy and her Merry Band of Scoobies belong to Joss. I'm just messing with 'em.

AN- This is an AU where Willow was Turned shortly before Buffy arrived in Sunnydale in Season 1 and although she's now a vampire, Willow does not run around in leather since she discovered it tends to chafe.

This story will feature Vampire Willow's POV.

**FAR FROM DAYLIGHT by Haxan**

**Prologue**

Y'know, it isn't easy being a vampire. Oh sure, we've got the super duper strength and like, a really neat immortality 'top of the food chain' thing going, but we've also got this crummy deal concerning a pesky blonde with a pointy stick fetish who seems hell-bent on spoiling our good clean bitey fun. Turned out she was called a 'Slayer' and she was a supernatural warrior chosen by some cosmic lottery to defend the poor innocent ickle humans from us mean ol' monsters.

Think Xena, but tiny and perky.

And if that wasn't bad enough, even though she could have popped up anywhere in the world, like oh, I dunno... Guatemala? This one decided to park her bony Chosen butt smack dab right in my own hometown. Which at the time made me feel like I was sharing my bed with a mantrap or keeping flesh eating piranha in my bathtub or something else equally upsetting and metaphor-y. Anyway, the bottom line was when Buffy Summers breezed into town, Sunnydale had suddenly gotten seriously dangerous for our undead health.

Luckily for me though, Ira and Sheila raised their little Willow Rosenberg to really enjoy a challenge. Of course they were probably thinking more along the lines of the usual loser crap like solving tricky mathematical theory and acing pop quizzes and not how many different ways I could rip out someone's throat and get away with it. But hey, blood-sucking fiend now and thanks to that great big honkin' geek infested brain of mine, I've managed to keep my undead tushy nice and dust free for at least three whole years. And all completely under the Slayer's nose. If they hadn't already skipped town after my funeral, I'm sure Ira and Sheila would've been so proud. I always was their cute lil obsessive over-achiever.

Too bad the same can't be said for my fellow snaggled-toothed brethren who I'm convinced must have some deep seated death wish or something. I mean how else do you explain their almost suicidal need to attack the Slayer whenever she catches them on her patrol? Instead of dropping their munchies and running for their pathetic unlives, they go with the 'grr' and get all confrontation-y. Actually, maybe they're just monumentally stupid.

My Sire was the same.

He was all "The Slayer will DIE!" and "I will DESTROY her!" and not forgetting the ever popular "Her SCREAMS will serenade your grand awakening, my Master!"

Yeah right. Fat lot of good he was against Ms Stake-a-Lot.

The big jerk.

Gotta say, there's no love lost between us. It was thanks to him and his itchy fangs that I went from doormat homework gal to oh goody, doormat minion gal. It's also why I eventually betrayed him and gave the Slayer a juicy tip off about the Harvest. When the White Hats came charging in to save the day, I made sure I was there all nice and snug in the shadows enjoying the moment. Heck, I even recorded it on one of those handy dandy camcorders. Watching Luke go poof still gives me a happy.

In a sense, even though I sometimes just wanna rip out her spleen and wear it like a party hat, I guess I've kinda gotta give Buffy some kudos for that.

Y'see, as I've already mentioned before, being a vampire in Sunnydale? Not so easy. But being a vampire stuck with a lumpy-brow whack job Sire and his crusty bat faced Master of the freakin' underworld? Yeah, THAT sucked. Especially when they started playing another round of 'eviscerate the minions'. There was a lot of fun traumatic stress disorders had by all when those guys got cranky, let me tell you!

Thankfully, Buffy screwing up the Harvest and staking Luke spared me from a fate worse than death.

The Slayer actually saved me.

Heh.

Ya gotta love that irony.

X

To be continued...

Feedback is always appreciated.:)


	2. Life Bites

**Chapter One - Life Bites**

It's kinda funny how life just outta the blue bites you on the ass or in my case, the neck. I suppose it was just a matter of time considering Sunnydale's declining population rate, but back then I was happily and blissfully unaware of the big hairy danger of living on a Hellmouth...and I still had a pulse. There was no such thing as monsters, well, unless you counted Cordelia and vampires only existed in books where they tended to flounce around in silk shirts and have tragic love affairs with damsels of the heaving bosom variety. Okay, so I liked the cheesy Mills and Boons-y side of horror fiction but hey, I was a typical teenage girl with hormones. Lots of hormones! Besides, it was nice to think that even creatures of the night could get romantic snuggles.

Unfortunately Luke must have missed that memo.

Having my throat ripped out wasn't very romantic at all.

Yep, that Hellmouth reality check sure wasn't pretty. One minute I was approaching Xander's house ready to knock on the door like usual and the next I was getting grabbed from behind and dragged away into the shadows of the surrounding bushes by the evil undead! If nothing else, Luke was a professional when he snatched me. He made darn sure I wouldn't make a fuss. It's kinda hard trying to scream for your life when you can barely breathe. Luke's icy cold hand clamped over my mouth smelled bad, like dirt and decay and yeah, the crushing with his arms wasn't helping with the constricting lungs thing or my heart rate which was pounding painfully against my sore ribs. Spots appeared before my eyes and oxygen was becoming a serious issue and all I could think of was that I was going to die but I had to take a History test tomorrow and I hadn't even kissed a boy. Ever! And oh god, Xander! Who was gonna look after Xander? And no, no, no I really didn't want to die! Not now! Not like this! Please, not like this!

Luke must have been enjoying my muffled desperate gasping cries of despair and terror a lot 'cause he kinda slackened his hold so I could breathe, struggle and generally work myself up into a blubbering wiggy mess. Then once he tired of my feeble attempts to escape, he leaned closer and nuzzled my hair.

"You smell delicious, girl. So young, fresh and very...tender." he whispered, almost purring in appreciation. "A pity that my Master demands new recruits this night, otherwise I may have been tempted to savor more of your delights at my leisure." His voice sounded growl-y and menacing and wrong.

I jerked as something cool and wet trailed along the side of my neck and I realized to my horror that he was licking me. Which was just 'ewww!'

"Mmmm...perhaps later I might yet." I shuddered at all the nasty wiggy thoughts that put in my head then whimpered as he roughly pulled my hair back and forced me to expose more of my throat.

"How fortunate you are, little morsel," Luke's fetid breath tickled my ear as he snarled in amusement, "for you have been chosen for a higher purpose. Come, receive my Master's blessing and be reborn."

All the crazy talk about 'morsels' and 'Masters' was making me feel sick with dread, and when I felt him shift behind me I tried to struggle again, fully expecting a knife or an ax or something else pointy and sharp that psychos liked to carry around and 'bless' people with. But it didn't happen like that. Instead, Luke did something much, much worse. He suddenly gripped me by the shoulders, spun me around and then showed me that monsters did exist.

He showed me his true face.

I learned later that Xander didn't take it very well when he found my cold dead body sprawled just a few meters outside his front door.

Not that I could blame him. Y'see, the reason I was going round to Xander's house in the first place was so I could comfort him. We had both lost a very close childhood friend in a horrific animal attack at the park recently and even though the police said it was wild dogs or a cougar or something, after all, what else could have chewed up poor Jesse like that? They never found anything. Xander was devastated and I cried and cried but he didn't cry at all. It was like he was so choked with grief he could barely force the tears out. He just looked pale and tired and so very, very sad.

And thanks to Luke, he had lost me too.

In the true Sunnydale tradition, I was buried as soon as possible and apparently had a nice simple Jewish funeral with a few grieving relatives who I hadn't seen since my bat mitzva. Even some of my high school teachers attended. I suppose I should be grateful to Ira and Sheila, they may have been pathetic lousy deadbeat parents while I was alive but at least they gave me a decent send off when I was dead.

Unlike Jesse though, I came back.

X

To be continued...

Feedback is always appreciated.:)


	3. Bad Munchies

**2- Bad Munchies**

I woke up hungry.

This was gonna be a problem 'cause I also woke up lying in a box which I could barely move in. I found this out the hard way when I whacked my head trying to sit up, which was 'oww' and really confused me about my sudden tiny living space. It was cold and dark and my head was aching. At first I thought the throbbing I heard was coming from my skull but I slowly realized the faint thumping noise was coming from above, which was a bit freaky. I didn't realize it was a heartbeat...and that it wasn't mine 'cause I no longer had one.

Suddenly hunger cramped my stomach and made me groan in pain. It was like something sharp had got all twisty in my gut. It was awful and made me want to eat something, anything so the gnawing in my belly would go away! I was starving!

This brought me back to my problem. I wasn't going anywhere stuck in this...whatever the frilly heck this was. It felt sturdy and solid and wooden and I had absolutely no idea how I even ended up trapped in it! My thoughts were still kinda fuzzy and hard to grasp. Maybe this was some kind of prank? A memory of being locked in the gym equipment cupboard flashed through my mind and reminded how so much fun THAT was. I missed a pop quiz for Trig thanks to that. I hated missing pop quizzes.

Feeling shaky and desperate, I scrabbled my fingers along the closed lid of the box and searched for a hinge or an opening, but after some fruitless poking and prodding it was clear I wasn't gonna find anything. I gave an irritated sigh and slumped in defeat, then winced as another hunger pang hit. It hurt almost as bad as the last one and I was starting to get worried that something was seriously wrong with me. Of course, I had no idea how right I was.

A red haze of anger started to bubble in my mind. I was stressed and scared and sick of this. Not only was I somehow mysteriously stuck in a dumb box but I was also getting like, a bad case of the munchies, really frickin' bad! And I didn't know what was going on! Which was making me really, REALLY cranky! And I wanted out! NOW!

Something deep inside snapped and with a cry of frustration I punched the wood above me, only to freeze in shock when my fist actually burst through the boards.

And whoa. Okay. I so did not expect that!

Then as earth started to pepper my face and fill up my senses with it's damp loamy scent, I realized with growing horror that it was all around me. Surrounding me. And...Oh god, I was buried in it. I was buried in the earth.

Oh. Oh. Oh my god. I was buried ALIVE!

Actually, I'm pretty sure I would have been even more wigged if I had stopped to notice I also wasn't breathing. But I wasn't sweating the small stuff. I was too busy panicking like crazy and suddenly tearing the box apart like it was wet cardboard. Solid wood cracked between my fingers and it vaguely occurred to me that I shouldn't be able to do that, but by then it didn't matter. I just had to get out! Out! OUT!

Black choking dirt poured over me, stinging my eyes and clogging my nose and mouth. It was scratchy and it forced itself between my lips and teeth so all I could taste was damp earthy grit. I gotta say, the whole not breathing thing came in real handy for digging through that dirt. It was so easy! I just clawed and clawed and clawed blindly through the rough pressing darkness until I burst out into the light and felt the cool night air.

I must have kinda surprised someone, 'cause I heard a gasp and the sound of feet shuffling hastily backwards away from me. They were quite near, but I couldn't see anything since my face was coated in muck. The next thing I heard was an ominous gurgle coming from my stomach and with a desperate urgency, I dragged myself up from the grass then heaved my guts out. Thick ropey mud splattered on the ground in a seemly unending torrential stream of brown vomit and the effort left me gasping. It was super icky gross and I felt like I'd swallowed a bag of fertilizer.

Which actually was pretty close.

After tossing my mud pie cookies, I focused on getting some bearings. I could hear that thumping noise again, except this time it was faster and louder and when I finally managed to open my eyes, blinking out the dirt, I was surprised I didn't find some kid banging away on a drum. Instead, I found some old Jewish looking guy clutching a walking stick and goggling at me with wide disbelieving eyes.

I frowned, not quite understanding where the beating was coming from and thought maybe he had a really loud pacemaker or something.

Then it sunk in that I was in a graveyard and suddenly noisy annoying pacemakers were the least of my problems. I had just crawled out of a grave and...oh god. And it wasn't just any old grave. Slowly, I turned and looked behind me and stared at a small stone set on the ground.

_Here Lies Our Beloved Daughter_

_W-I-L-L-O-W x R-O-S-E-N-B-E-R-G_

_1981 - 1997_

_'Tis better to forget with a smile, than remember with a tear'  
_

Almost dazed, I ran my fingers over the raised letters of my name as if checking to see that it was real. It wasn't surprising, but I think I was going into shock. Clawing out from your grave and seeing your own gravestone kinda puts a crimp on a gal's sanity like that.

"How can this be?" the old man whispered and I could tell he was moving closer, wary and concerned. "Child, what...what has happened here?"

He had a thick Yiddish accent that reminded me of my dad. This got me thinking about my parents, which made me all clench-y and frown-y. Oh yeah, I really had issues with them. I mean I knew they weren't all 'Yay for the Fruit of my Loins' super attentive 'Parents of the Year' parents, but burying your kid alive was really pushing it! It was bad! Beyond bad even! Worse than all those forgotten Birthdays and canceled family events bad! A small black ball of betrayal sat heavily in my gut. I couldn't believe they had done such a horrible thing. Then I decided that it had to have been a mistake. One of those...those really silly 'Ripley's Believe It or Not' mistakes where people accidentally got buried alive all the time. Yeah! That was it. They made a mistake. And when I got back I was gonna tell Xander all about it and he'd say something funny and we'd really laugh and...

I couldn't help it and I'm really embarrassed to admit it, but I suddenly burst into tears. It was that upsetting.

"Ahhh, child." Tentatively, the old man laid his hand on my shaking shoulder and gave it a gentle reassuring squeeze.

I looked up with sad watery eyes, fragile and trembling. His face was all blurry but I could sense the kindness. He was such a nice old man. It was a pity he stayed. He really should have left me alone.

"...mistake." I whimpered through my tears, still trying to convince myself, " It's...its all a horrible mistake..."

I must have looked so pathetic and lost 'cause he seemed like he was going to offer me some more comfort.

Unfortunately, that was the moment the worst hunger cramps in the world hit and ruined everything. I'd never felt anything like it! The last ones were all hugs and puppies in comparison to this storm ripping through my insides. It wasn't just chewing up my stomach either; it was worming into my chest, crushing my lungs, and pounding my skull. It was everywhere. The pain was absolute. It just crashed right through me like a huge crimson wave and swept everything away. Everything but the need to feed. I was so ravenous it hurt!

It burned!

It screamed!

I needed...needed...

I felt the old mad starting to struggle in my arms. I didn't remember grabbing him and now I was holding him too tightly but I didn't mean to! I just needed... I watched a big vein on his neck throb. Oh. That was pretty. It pulsed in tandem with the beating in his chest. Fast and jerky. And I realized I was so silly thinking it was a pacemaker. It was obviously his heart. His heart was singing to me. It was so soothing. Hypnotic. Soon it would scream. Distantly, I heard a crack as I accidentally squeezed a little too hard.

"I'm sorry," I murmured, gazing regretfully as his kindly features twisted with pain and fear, "you've been so nice and everything but it's just, your veins look so good...all purple and throbby and...and I'm so hungry I-I can't..."

I groaned, feeling something savage shifting and instinct took over. I felt my face sort of flex, like stretching a muscle. It was a weird feeling and I paused, blinking in slight bemusement at the lingering tingles under my skin. Then I sank my teeth into sweet sweaty flesh and no longer cared.

Dark rich blood flooded my mouth and I growled, rolling my eyes in pleasure. It was so warm! Like meat and honey pulsing down my throat. Very nummy! I wanted more and more and more! I was oblivious to the cries of distress and terror. Or the snapping sounds of breaking bones as I tightened my grip. I just wanted the blood. It was so good and I could feel it revitalizing me with new life. The sluggish hazy blur that teased my memories started to clear and take form. Images and events flickered in my mind and I saw my last night as a human.

There I was, walking down an empty dark street to Xander's house. I looked so earnest and worried and stupid. I growled, annoyed at myself. I couldn't believe how monumentally stupid I had been. How it never occurred to me that maybe wandering out alone late at night wasn't such a great idea, especially after what happened to Jesse. But noooo┘ I was too caught up all wanting to be supporto gal for poor grieving Xander. No wonder I was toast.

I watched unimpressed as Luke grabbed me and had his sick jollies making me squirm. I despised how weak I was. How small and easily subdued. That was gonna change. I glared with baleful eyes at my murderer. He was smiling. Then his smile twisted into a mouth that was full of nightmares. Pain flashed through my senses as I remembered my own draining, then it all seemed to fade away into a light. It was bright but soothing. I found myself staring in longing and fear. It was so beautiful!

Then something dragged me back.

Dragged me far, far away from the light.

Any kind of light.

And then I woke up hungry.

My eyes snapped open as I realized what had happened now and why I was in a graveyard. I felt really pleased that my parents hadn't buried me alive after all. Which was quirky and ironic. I noticed how still the old man was. His heart had stopped beating and the well of yummy blood had basically run dry. Disappointed, I detached myself from his cold pasty neck and licked my lips, running my tongue along my jagged teeth and enjoying how they felt. It was kinda nifty they way they receded as I changed back into my human face. I looked down, smiling fondly at the empty husk who hung limply in my arms broken and dead.

He was such a nice old man.

Tasty too.

I gave him an appreciative kiss on the forehead then dropped him on the ground and happily strolled away.

I felt so much better now! No more nasty hunger pangs or doubts or worries. I knew exactly what I was now and I loved it!

I noted for the first time since waking up that I was wearing a tachrichim, a white burial shroud. Or not so white in this case. Boy, was I in a mess! I really needed to get some clean clothes. I guess my folks had gone for a semi-traditional Jewish burial. That would also explain the budget cut-price pine box coffin I was stuck in. The cheapskates. I made a mental note to thank them very personally the next time I saw them. And by 'thank' I meant 'butcher horrible with claw hammer'.

Still, that was fun party plans for later. For now the night was young and there was a certain bestest buddy of mine I had been dying to visit. Literally. But now I was back and I intended to finish what I had started. Besides, there was something neat I really wanted to show him. I'm sure it would cheer him up too. After all, I was his supporto gal.

I smiled and my little white human teeth glinted in the darkness.

I couldn't wait.

Xander was gonna love it!

X

To be continued

_AN- Thanks, Silvermoonlight for your reviews! I'm glad you liked my take on this AU Vampy Willow. I've always had a soft spot for her too. So I'll try not to torment her too much. :)_

X

_Feedback is always appreciated. :)_


	4. Willow Says

**Chapter Three – Willow Says**

It was early in the evening when I finally found myself standing outside Xander's house. I would have gotten there sooner if it hadn't been for the stupid shroud. That whole 'freshly dug myself out off the grave' look wasn't exactly making it easy to blend in, so I was forced to make a longer detour through the shadowy nooks and crannies of the town to remain unseen. I did toy with the notion of just ripping the darn thing off, but there was a distinct lack of underwear going on and the thought of running around buck-naked was just too wiggy for me. I may have been an evil undead blood-sucking fiend with questionable morals, but there was no way I was gonna kick-start my reign of terror by streaking through Sunnydale! I also seriously needed a nice hot shower. I had dirt stuck in places where no dirt had gone before. 

Despite the mucky draggy dumb funeral clothing, I still found it no problem for me to leap over tall chain linked fences and scuttle up fire escapes and bounce off a few rooftops. Which I gotta say, was quite a rush since I managed it all without breaking a sweat or my neck. I loved how this vampire stuff made you so spry! My senses had gotten all buzzy too, like I had been stuck in a thick foggy bubble until it went pop, and now suddenly everything was so sharp and clear and bright. I could smell people! And hear the blood pumping through their veins. And I was stealthy! Very big with the stealthy. Kinda like a ninja even!

I'm sure Xander would have been impressed with that. He was all for the ninjas. Me? Not so much. Whenever we played the Ninja VS Pirates game I was the one who always rooted for the pirates 'cause they had pretty ships and Jolly Rogers and parrots and Oh! Swashbuckling! I was a big fan of the swashbuckling! But now I could definitely see the appeal of being at one with the sneaky dark and I couldn't wait to share that amazing feeling with my buddy. We were going to be such a team! Like those super heroes in Xander's comic books, except we'd be more bitey and less crime fight-y. 

Still, I supposed we could always save people from muggers before we ate them. 

As I stalked towards the Harris' home, I couldn't help but feel kinda nostalgic about the place. Since I had basically spent more of my childhood growing up around my friend's faded sky blue painted house than I ever had in the cold clinical empty rooms of my own home, that wasn't so surprising. There were so many memories here. I paused to gaze fondly at the familiar scruffy garden with the brown uncut grass.

There by the porch was the bent rose trellis Xander and me broke when we tried to climb it. It was funny how eight years later the roses still grew sorta wonky. And over by the discarded rusty swing set was the little rock pool we used to drown our Star Wars figures in whenever the Death Star had a flash flood, 'cause the bad guys sure wouldn't have expected that! And there at the far back was the old gnarly 'hostage' tree my poor Barbie always ended up hanging from. And oh look, there was the bush Luke had dragged me behind and where I met my untimely ugly death. 

Oh yeah, so many memories…

I frowned when I noticed that the light in Xander's bedroom wasn't on. I had initially planned to climb up to the window and do a scratchy 'lemme in' type thing like in the horror movies, but that was obviously not so fun unless he was actually there. Luckily, the downstairs living room was occupied which meant at least someone was around. It was two someones actually. Thanks to my funky new vampy senses, I could hear their steady heartbeats coming through the wall. I suspected it was probably the parents 'cause I could also smell smoke and alcohol, which definitely wasn't a Xander trait. He was more a meat feast pizza, blue Gatorade type of guy and according to my sensitive nose, it looked like he and his junk food were not at home at the moment. I growled a little, feeling annoyed by his absence. It was totally messing with my big flashy entrance! But I decided if the vampire couldn't come to the friend, then the friend would have to come to the vampire. I would just have to be patient and wait inside.

Unfortunately, that soon turned out to be a heck of a lot easier said than done when some kind of force field repelled my attempts to enter via the basement. I couldn't see it, but there was a weird barrier thingy blocking my way and thrumming with a vibe that really grated on my nerves. It was almost painful in its intensity, like hundreds of nails dragging on a chalkboard, and something told me instinctively that no amount of brute strength would shift the stupid pesky thing. It seemed those silly horror books I used to read were right about some of the myths. As a vampire, I seriously needed an invite from one of the occupants if I wanted to get in. The question was, how was I going to get their attention when they were all nice and snuggy behind that pain in the ass barrier while I was still stuck out here?

After mulling over a few possibilities mostly involving lobbing bricks through their windows, I decided to go for something a bit more subtle and just walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell.

A lot. 

All _'ding-dong-ding-dong-ding-dong-ding-dong'_. 

Like some demented girl scout determined to sell those cookies.

If that didn't get them off their butts, nothing would. 

I kept my finger on the button until as expected, there was some muffled cursing and then someone's rapid footsteps approached the door. I grinned in anticipation and stepped to the side, listening for the latch to unlock. If I was lucky, they'd be so upset, they'd stray from the safety of the barrier and I could grab 'em. My fingers twitched, ready to dig into hair and skin if need be. Instead, I got a lot more than I bargained for as the profile of a red faced woman came barrelling out the doorway as angry as a spitting cat and waving a cigarette around.

"HOW DARE YOU! What the HELL do you th-" And that's as far as she got before I latched onto her unprotected arm then whirled her around and slammed her roughly against the porch wall. Well, that sure took the wind out her sails. I gripped her tightly and watched as she recovered from her shock. 

"Wha-what? Willow?" She blinked in disbelief and I inwardly preened, pleased to know I was still so recognizable, even when I was all mucky and wearing something that would totally send Cordelia Chase into a fashion seizure.

"Hi Mrs Harris," I smiled politely, innocent and shy, and then 'cause I couldn't resist, shifted into a nasty demonic grin. "Can Xander come out to play?"

My nostrils flared as I was hit with a big whammy dose of fear. Whoo…boy! I could see now why Luke was all jonesing for the terror inducing, 'cause that was just yummy! Mrs Harris's pulse rate was going through the roof, which was bad 'cause it suddenly made me really, REALLY want to eat her and that would've kinda defeated the whole point of this. She opened her mouth to scream and I slapped my hand over it, restraining the urge just to sink my fangs into her neck. 

"Shhhh..." I admonished, pouting. "You're not allowed to scream. Not yet." 

I paused and listened for the tell tale sign of another pair of footsteps to come running to her rescue, but nothing happened. 

It looked like it was going to be just the two of us. Which was fine by me.

My amber eyes narrowed as I studied my captive. Xander's mom was a slightly heavy-set woman with hair the colour of wet rust and she usually wore enough cheap jewellery to decorate a tacky Christmas tree. It seemed though, that I had caught her slumming, 'cause the bling was missing and her pale terrified face wasn't caked with make up. The grey top and matching sweatpants she was sporting were a change from the usual gaudy coloured clothing too. I leaned closer, nuzzling her neck and brushing her frizzy perm with the tip of my nose. I could smell underneath the delicious fear, the bitter ash of cigarettes, sour sweat and vodka. Lots of vodka. It was pretty whiffy, like she had taken a bath in the stuff. Xander's mom must have been really hitting the bottle hard before she opened the door, all red faced and shouty. 

I smirked to myself. 

She sure wasn't acting like a big ol' lush now. 

Guess there's nothing like coming face to face with a vampire to sober you right up. We're even better than caffeine!

My face tingled as it turned back into my human guise and I noticed she smelled less like dinner when she wasn't looking at a monster. 

It was going to be fun proving how wrong she was. 

Without taking my hand away, I slipped behind the woman and held her in a tight uncomfortable grip. She tried to struggle a bit, but a yank on the arm I was currently bending behind her back quickly stopped that nonsense. It was tempting just to keep on bending, but me going all bone break-y was probably not the wisest course of action. I had a feeling once I popped one, I wasn't gonna want to stop.

Violence was kinda like Pringles for vampires. 

Luckily, I had an alternative and somewhat quirky way to persuade Mrs H to give me an invitation, at least without snapping her like a twig.

"You know, since Xander's not around, I think I'll just play with you instead." I purred softly in her ear. "And I've got such a neat game I wanna play. Can you guess what it is?" I yanked her arm when she didn't reply fast enough.

Mrs Harris gave a muffled squeak underneath my hand and feverishly shook her head. 

"Why, it's the best game ever!" I chirped happily. "It's called 'Willow Says', which is like 'Simon Says' except it's me that's telling you what to do. Clever, huh?"

A tweak on her arm prompted Mrs Harris to squeak and feverishly nod in agreement.

"I'm so glad you think so." I grinned then leaned over to add a deeper menacing tone to my voice. "Oh yeah, almost forgot. If you don't do as Willow Says, I'll break your arm, tear it off and beat you to death with it. Understand?"

Mrs Harris understood.

"Goody." I smiled perkily at her. "Well, first of all Willow Says, 'don't scream'. That also means no shrieking, yelling or calling for help either 'cause that's just cheating. Anyway, I'm gonna take my hand away from your mouth, so not a peep, okay?"

Cautiously, I slowly moved my hand away and waited to see if she would obey. I was pleased to see we had a fast learner.

"Well done." I approved. "Right. Time to get a bit more comfortable. I'm gonna let you go and shift over a little and I want you to stay exactly where you are. You so much as twitch and well, I guarantee you'll regret it. So with that in mind Willow Says, 'don't move'."

As I carefully eased my hold and stepped forward to stand beside Mrs Harris, I noticed her legs were really quivering. It was obvious she desperately wanted to bolt and I was mildly surprised that despite my warning, she wasn't taking the chance. It was also vaguely disappointing. Hunting her down would have been amusing.

"Now you're getting the hang of it." I lazily interlocked our nearest arms together in a friendly gesture and gave her an encouraging squeeze. "Okay, let's stretch those legs. Willow Says, 'walk to the door'." 

That was no problem as arm in arm we took a few steps to the open front door. 

"Great. Just one more and then we're done." My lips curled slyly. "Willow Says, ' invite me in'."

Suddenly Mrs Harris tensed up and got really frown-y. She was pondering. I didn't like the pondering. It meant she was thinking things over and that wasn't allowed. Her reluctance to obey this seemingly ordinary request made me suspect that she might have had her fair share of reading some silly horror books too…

Luckily I had a Plan B.

"Uh oh, I guess you're not too keen on that, huh?" I sighed and affected a thoughtful expression. "Still, I don't see what the problem is, it's only good manners after all. Oh well. Tell you what. I'll just break it down and make it real simple for you, okay?" I explained reasonably. "Great. So Willow Says…" Then with a sudden snap of violent movement, I vamped out and savagely gripped the wretched woman by her collar and lifted her a few feet in the air.

"LET ME IN!" I snarled, amber eyed and fangs flashing. "NOW!"

"Oh god! Oh god! C-come in! Come in! Come in!" Mrs Harris babbled, terrified out off her mind." Please don't hurt me! P-please! Come in!" Oh yeah. The pondering was officially over.

And just like that, the barrier was gone. 

Yay, me.

"Why thank you, Mrs H. Don't mind if I do." I primly replied all sweetly human again, then roughly dragged her into the house. Once I was in the hallway, I stretched out a leg and kicked the door shut with a satisfying slam. Mrs Harris jerked at the loud noise and I rolled my eyes disdainfully. She was such a skittish little thing.

"Since you've been so good, I'm gonna let you go now." I said, loosening my hold once more. "You won't try and run away will you? 'Cause that would kinda tick me off and you don't wanna tick me off, do you?" My warning dripped with menace as I stroked her hair like a pet.

"N-no." the woman whimpered, shuddering as my fingers caressed her cheek. 

"Good girl." I soothed then stepped back to give her some space. While she stood shaking in her corner, I locked the door and posted the keys through the mailbox. I wouldn't need them since I was pretty sure I was strong enough to wrench it from its hinges, but now everybody else was trapped. 

With little ol' me. 

Well, at least until Xander came back and unlocked the door again.

But before that was gonna happen, I decided I had enough time to finally indulge in my evil blood-sucking fiendish needs. Or one of them, at least.

"Well, I don't know about you…" I grinned and slowly walked towards the cowering woman. "But I could really kill for a nice hot shower right about now…"

And I meant it too.

X

To be continued…

AN- Thank you Silvermoonlight, Mayhem Managed and Melanacious for all your kind reviews! 

X

Feedback is always appreciated. :)


	5. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**Far From Daylight/Dark Willow and Crazy Pants Tara- Author's Note**

Don't you just hate it when you think this is a new chapter and it turns out to be an Author's Note? Sorry guys, I had hoped to post some more drabbles and FFD chapters by now but my RL's pretty much exploded and put a nix on my free time. I'm basically moving to a new town, renting a new house and getting a new job. I've dealt with most of the crazy all that entails, but it's still gonna take some time before I get back in the writing groove. Don't worry though, I have no intention of abandoning my fics. I'll definitely be back once things settle down and I get access to the Internet again.

I just wanted to let you all know and thank you again for your feedback and support. It's always been greatly appreciated.:)

Bye for now, or as Crazy Pants Tara would say… "Hooooooppy Toaaaaaaaaaads!!"


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